tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321322952015-07-02T10:36:10.031+02:00istanbul&bilbao (ispanyolcakursu.blogspot.com)ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.comBlogger212125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-9859026553138420982015-05-15T22:20:00.001+02:002015-05-15T22:20:40.049+02:00buscas piso en estambul?<div class="wb-stl-normal" style="background-color: #4acac6; color: white; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 28px; padding: 0px;">Istaybul.com offers a selection of affordable holiday rooms and flats at the center of the city of Istanbul. Our rooms and flats are all well designed, have all the comfort to make you feel at home and are clean. In the middle of the center&nbsp;they will make your Istanbul experience very special and unique. The best way to experience the real Istanbul is to stay among the locals.<span style="background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="background-color: transparent;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: transparent;">www.istaybul.com</span></div>ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-51396054005663429462014-07-16T11:21:00.001+02:002014-07-16T11:21:25.541+02:00 el Ramadán, el mes sagrado de ayuno de los musulmanes, <a href="http://www.abc.es/internacional/20140715/abci-victimas-ramadan-turquia-201407141234.html">http://www.abc.es/internacional/20140715/abci-victimas-ramadan-turquia-201407141234.html</a><br /><br /><br /><div class="p" style="background-color: white; color: #080808; font-family: Georgia, arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">Cualquier observador casual puede percibir que, durante&nbsp;<a class="a" href="http://www.abc.es/sociedad/20140706/abci-porque-celebran-ramadan-historia-curiosidades-201407041616_1.html" style="color: #215a9c; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="el Ramadán, el mes sagrado de ayuno de los musulmanes">el Ramadán, el mes sagrado de ayuno de los musulmanes</a>, una gran proporción de los ciudadanos de Turquía se encuentra irritable y malhumorada. En estos días aumentan las discusiones, las peleas, los accidentes de tráfico y, por desgracia, también los homicidios.</div><div class="p" style="background-color: white; color: #080808; font-family: Georgia, arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">Según la policía turca, en los diez primeros días del&nbsp;<span style="font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ramadán</span>&nbsp;de este año se produjeron un total de<span style="font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">&nbsp;68 asesinatos</span>, lo que eleva la media de estos incidentes de 3 a 7 diarios. En la mayoría de los casos, el motivo para estos crímenes es «un estallido de rabia».</div><div class="p" style="background-color: white; color: #080808; font-family: Georgia, arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">El ayuno u «oruç», como se lo conoce en Turquía, incluye abstenerse no solo de ingerir alimentos, sino también de beber agua y fumar, lo que, según muchos, es la peor parte. De cumplir este precepto solo están exentos los enfermos, los viajeros, los niños pequeños y las mujeres embarazadas o con la menstruación, entre otros casos. Dado que en los últimos años el Ramadán ha tenido lugar en verano, las&nbsp;<span style="font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">elevadas temperaturas&nbsp;</span>lo están haciendo especialmente&nbsp;<span style="font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">difícil de soportar</span>.</div><h4 class="ladillo" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ataque contra un bar en Estambul</h4><div class="p" style="background-color: white; color: #080808; font-family: Georgia, arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">En Turquía una gran parte de la sociedad se considera laica y no guarda ayuno, y en la mitad occidental del país bares y cafeterías funcionan normalmente, a diferencia de otros lugares como Marruecos o la Cabilia argelina, donde&nbsp;<a class="a" href="http://www.abc.es/internacional/20140709/abci-marruecos-ramadan-alcohol-201407081736.html" style="color: #215a9c; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="se imponen penas legales a aquellos que violen la prohibición de ayunar">se imponen penas legales a aquellos que violen la prohibición de ayunar</a>.</div><div class="p" style="background-color: white; color: #080808; font-family: Georgia, arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">Pero el país no está exento de tensiones: el jueves pasado, dos individuos atacaron a los clientes de un bar en el cosmopolita barrio estambulí de Besiktas, arrojándoles sillas e hiriendo a tres personas, incluyendo a dos turistas. «¡Estáis bebiendo alcohol y haciendo ruido antes del “iftar” [la comida de ruptura del ayuno]!», gritaron los agresores, según el relato de la reportera turca Makbule Cengiz, que se encontraba por casualidad en el lugar.</div><div class="p" style="background-color: white; color: #080808; font-family: Georgia, arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">Incidentes de este tipo –agresiones y amenazas a vendedores y consumidores de alcohol- se repiten cada año. En 2008, por ejemplo, Muslum Goksu, el propietario de una licorería en Ankara, recibió&nbsp;<span style="font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">una paliza&nbsp;</span>a manos de tres jóvenes&nbsp;<span style="font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">por expedir alcohol durante el Ramadán</span>. Uno de los agresores, de hecho, era un cliente regular de Goksu.</div><h4 class="ladillo" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">El caso del tamborilero apuñalado</h4><div class="p" style="background-color: white; color: #080808; font-family: Georgia, arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">La crispación, además, afecta a todos los sectores de la sociedad: a aquellos que no ayunan les molestan los tamborileros que, alrededor de las tres de la madrugada, recorren los barrios populares despertando a sus habitantes para que puedan tomar su última comida antes de la salida del sol. En 2011, uno de estos tamborileros fue apuñalado en Isparta por un vecino airado, que le gritó que se fuese a «tocar el tambor a otra parte». Cuando el músico le ignoró, el hombre bajó a la calle armado con un cuchillo y le perforó la espalda y el brazo. El tamborilero sobrevivió.</div><div class="p" style="background-color: white; color: #080808; font-family: Georgia, arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">Los ciudadanos no religiosos se quejan a menudo de retrasos y negligencias en los servicios de emergencia debido a las disrupciones causadas por el ayuno. Hace cuatro años, un hombre llamado Mustafa Mor demandó a un hospital de la provincia de Gaziantep por no tener personal de guardia que le atendiese tras un accidente de tráfico, puesto que todos estaban asistiendo al «iftar».</div><div class="p" style="background-color: white; color: #080808; font-family: Georgia, arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">Para los secularistas, las prácticas del Ramadán son cada vez más intrusivas por influencia del gobierno islamista de Recep Tayyip Erdogan, lo que genera situaciones como la de que un trabajador del servicio de ferries a las Islas Príncipe&nbsp;<a class="a" href="http://www.abc.es/20120802/internacional/abci-estambul-vino-barco-ramadan-201208011407.html" style="color: #215a9c; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="se niegue a permitir embarcar a una mujer por llevar varias botellas de vino">se niegue a permitir embarcar a una mujer por llevar varias botellas de vino</a>, como ocurrió en 2012. La promoción del Ramadán por parte del gobierno turco es evidente: por ejemplo, este año, la emisión de programas especiales durante el «iftar» ha copado la&nbsp;<a class="a" href="http://laguiatv.abc.es/programacion/" style="color: #215a9c; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Programación de TV">programación</a>&nbsp;de las principales cadenas de televisión, llegando a desplazar en algunos casos incluso la retransmisión de los partidos del Mundial de Fútbol de Brasil, y sus presentadores se han convertido en superestrellas con sueldos multimillonarios.</div>ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-78269210828014883762014-07-16T11:18:00.002+02:002014-07-16T11:18:30.615+02:00¿Turco o alemán? Las dos cosas <a href="http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2014/07/13/actualidad/1405284030_803203.html">http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2014/07/13/actualidad/1405284030_803203.html</a><br /><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px;">El centro de asesoría para turcos del barrio berlinés de Kreuzberg tenía el pasado lunes una agitación mayor de la habitual. Decenas de personas se acercaban a esta oficina para preguntar por los detalles de la decisión adoptada cuatro días antes por el Bundestag, la&nbsp;<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=6&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0CD0QFjAF&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Felpais.com%2Ftag%2Felecciones_alemania_2013%2Fa%2F&amp;ei=jO3CU7faC-6e7AaVyoGYAg&amp;usg=AFQjCNGUa9XouvxTz6qBRKg5dvGeG4rIvw&amp;sig2=JOxRANKQcnFYizoR-c1XTA&amp;bvm=bv.70810081,d.ZGU" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 91, 154); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #005b9a; outline: none; padding: 2px 0px 1px; text-decoration: none;">Cámara baja del Parlamento alemán</a>. El sí de los diputados por abrumadora mayoría —algo habitual en este Gobierno de gran coalición— permitirá a los hijos de inmigrantes en&nbsp;<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0CB4QFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Felpais.com%2Ftag%2Falemania%2Fa%2F&amp;ei=dO3CU9frFcfD7Aa94oGQAw&amp;usg=AFQjCNHTqpSswM9Df5oZz1nviIEWu3QC7w&amp;sig2=kiZrdpGZxFLXsI2ZE78qfw&amp;bvm=bv.70810081,d.ZGU" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 91, 154); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #005b9a; outline: none; padding: 2px 0px 1px; text-decoration: none;">Alemania</a>&nbsp;no verse obligados a tomar a los 23 años una decisión crucial. Ya no tendrán que elegir entre la nacionalidad de sus antepasados o la del país en el que han vivido y crecido. Podrán conservar las dos, siempre que cumplan ciertas condiciones.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px;">La medida está pensada sobre todo para los turcos. No solo porque se trate, con más de millón y medio de personas, de la comunidad extranjera más numerosa en Alemania. También porque otros países, como todos los de la UE, ya tenían convenios que permitían a los hijos de españoles, franceses, italianos o británicos residentes en Alemania tener los dos pasaportes de por vida. Hay, por ejemplo, 700.000 alemanes con nacionalidad polaca. Otros ciudadanos, como la mayoría de latinoamericanos, marroquíes, sirios e iraníes, también se beneficiarán de la nueva regulación.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px;">El pero llega con las condiciones que los socialdemócratas del&nbsp;<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0CBwQFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Felpais.com%2Ftag%2Fsdp_partido_socialdemocrata_aleman%2Fa%2F&amp;ei=qu3CU-eUBMiy7AaPqIHQCg&amp;usg=AFQjCNHzsav6QP9v5LG66sfo32t4BBrctQ&amp;sig2=1TVk0naNXrXp4ZZmZJiZHA&amp;bvm=bv.70810081,d.ZGU" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 91, 154); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #005b9a; outline: none; padding: 2px 0px 1px; text-decoration: none;">SPD</a>, los impulsores de la iniciativa, se han visto obligados a aceptar de sus socios democristianos de Gobierno. Para conservar los dos pasaportes será obligatorio que el beneficiario demuestre a los 21 años que ha vivido al menos ocho en Alemania o que ha estado seis escolarizado. Estos requisitos impuestos por la parte más conservadora del Gobierno, temerosa de que acceder a la nacionalidad fuera demasiado fácil, han despertado las críticas de la oposición y de las asociaciones de defensa de los inmigrantes.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px;">En los últimos años han sido los socialcristianos de la&nbsp;<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0CBwQFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Felpais.com%2Ftag%2Fcsu_union_social_cristiana_alemania%2Fa%2F&amp;ei=wu3CU5PJO4He7AbCj4FA&amp;usg=AFQjCNH48X6uYKELOqbFfzltY2ZiXzXrgw&amp;sig2=qSL4oyGCYYBKWzhZS-jmDQ&amp;bvm=bv.70810081,d.ZGU" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 91, 154); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #005b9a; outline: none; padding: 2px 0px 1px; text-decoration: none;">CSU</a>, el partido bávaro hermanado con la CDU de&nbsp;<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0CBwQFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Felpais.com%2Ftag%2Fangela_merkel%2Fa%2F&amp;ei=0u3CU9rwAqvQ7Aa-ooCYDg&amp;usg=AFQjCNH9PyWJ7ZFE3J4rKjYwM4uyzYqx1A&amp;sig2=zQy6V7t3SHSXUkS2MDzrCA&amp;bvm=bv.70810081,d.ZGU" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 91, 154); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #005b9a; outline: none; padding: 2px 0px 1px; text-decoration: none;">Angela Merkel</a>, los que más han insistido en que eliminar las restricciones sería una forma de devaluar la noción de convertirse en alemán.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px;">“Estamos bastante enfadados. Este no es el proyecto que el SPD prometió en la campaña electoral. Creemos que los requisitos no evitarán que la mayor parte de los afectados puedan optar a la doble nacionalidad, pero es una cuestión de principios”, aseguraba el pasado jueves desde su soleado despacho berlinés Mustafá Doganay, representante de la comunidad turca de Alemania.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px;">Más duro aún es el discurso de la oposición. Los Verdes y la Izquierda critican otro de los puntos conflictivos de la ley: su no retroactividad. Es decir, los extranjeros que perdieron la nacionalidad alemana cuando estaban obligados a elegir entre una de las dos no podrán recuperarla. “Rechazamos la nueva ley porque supone una vez más tratar a los alemanes con padres extranjeros como si fueran de segunda clase”, resume el portavoz de Interior del partido ecologista.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px;">Los impulsores de la iniciativa lo ven de otro modo. La diputada socialdemócrata Eva Högl lamenta no haber convencido a sus socios de Gobierno de eliminar en todos los casos la obligación de elegir nacionalidad, pero al mismo tiempo define la ley aprobada como un gran éxito. “La doble nacionalidad forma parte de nuestro proceso de reconocernos como una sociedad de inmigración. Hemos dado un paso importante en el camino para aceptar que somos una sociedad multicultural”, añade Högl, vicepresidenta del grupo parlamentario del SPD.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px;">No hay datos sobre el número de turcos nacidos en Alemania afectados, pero el responsable de Integración del Gobierno, el socialdemócrata Aydan Özoguz, de ascendencia turca, calcula que a partir de 2018 unos 40.000 jóvenes podrán beneficiarse cada año de la nueva ley.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Garuda, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px;">El debate sobre la integración y la ciudadanía lleva décadas siendo un asunto caliente en la sociedad alemana. El canciller socialdemócrata,<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0CBwQFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Felpais.com%2Ftag%2Fgerhard_schroder%2Fa%2F&amp;ei=7u3CU7uDLeqJ7AbJuoHQDQ&amp;usg=AFQjCNHrei3pBcZRAm7Xrt2t2-TXM9nIDA&amp;sig2=eDJ0_621aumhHy6bQZUbdw&amp;bvm=bv.70810081,d.ZGU" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 91, 154); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #005b9a; outline: none; padding: 2px 0px 1px; text-decoration: none;">Gerhard Schröder</a>, fue en 2000 el responsable de acabar con el derecho de sangre para obtener la nacionalidad, un sistema anticuado que además era contraproducente para un país que necesita inmigrantes. Frente a las críticas que recibió, el Gobierno de coalición SPD-Verdes dio el paso, pero lo hizo de una forma tímida que creaba dos tipos de turcos, los nacidos antes de 1990 y los nacidos después. Solo los segundos tenían derecho a optar a los dos pasaportes, con la condición de que cuando cumplieran 23 años eligieran uno u otro. Han sido los propios socialdemócratas los que han cambiado esta norma 14 años más tarde. Pero lo han vuelto a hacer de un modo que algunos consideran insuficiente. La polémica promete continuar.</div>ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-48729524321890186992014-07-16T11:15:00.003+02:002014-07-16T11:15:33.637+02:00Susto sobre Estambul tras un concierto de Metallica <a href="http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/amarina/2014/07/16/susto-sobre-estambul-tras-concierto-metallica/0003_201407X16C3999.htm">http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/amarina/2014/07/16/susto-sobre-estambul-tras-concierto-metallica/0003_201407X16C3999.htm</a><br /><br /><br /><div class="texto" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 24px !important; padding: 0px 0px 15px;">«A los cinco segundos de despegar, petardazo en el motor derecho, justo en mi ala, pero no sabía si era normal, aunque estuve intranquilo desde que vi la explosión, intentando convencerme de que no estaba en situación de peligro, pero después habló el comandante del avión diciendo que teníamos que regresar, y no hubo histeria, pero varias personas se desmayaron y algunas lloraban». Así, de corrido, explicaba ayer el viveirense Paco Gueimunde, el aterrizaje de emergencia que vivió junto a su colega Benxa Soto a bordo de un avión de Iberia sobre el cielo de Estambul. E ironizaba en las redes sociales señalando que después del espectáculos de decibelios, láser y luces del mítico grupo «Iberia acabó poniendo la pirotecnia».</div><div class="texto" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 24px !important; padding: 0px 0px 15px;">Se quedó en un susto, pero de los que no se olvida. «Vi la explosión perfectamente, y cómo soltaba una llamarada el motor. A partir de ese momento todos notamos que el avión no ganó más altura, y la gente se dio cuenta de que no ascendíamos», explicó. Inicialmente el comandante de la aeronave informó de la posibilidad de que un pájaro fuera el causante de la explosión que dejó inutilizado el motor, algo que descartaron poco tiempo después. «La maniobra duró entre 10 y 15 minutos, y es una sensación un poco extraña; nos dimos cuenta de la situación cuando vimos el despliegue de bomberos y aeropuertos en la pista de aterrizaje». Superado el susto, la siguiente preocupación fue cómo regresar a casa. «Nos acostamos sin noticias, Iberia no tiene asistencia allí; nos fueron recolocando y hoy [ayer por la tarde], había gente que aún seguía en Estambul. Todo muy mal organizado», explicaba ya en Barajas.</div><div class="texto" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 24px !important; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">-Y a todo esto, ¿qué tal Metallica?</b></div><div class="texto" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 24px !important; padding: 0px 0px 15px;">-El concierto fantástico, los hemos visto ocho o nueve veces, pasan los años y mejoran. En Estambul, al no permitir alcohol, el ambiente es muy diferente a España, había familias desde niños a abuelos. Parecía un día de fiesta más que un concierto de rock.</div><div class="texto" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 24px !important; padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><br /></div>ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-58283301525508125352009-12-09T23:25:00.000+01:002009-12-09T23:27:27.242+01:00"Estambul me regaló una novela"JON ARRETXE Escritor<p>Shahmarán es un ser mitológico procedente del Asia central, medio reptil, medio mujer, con dos cabezas, que simboliza la fertilidad y la sabiduría. <i>Shahmarán</i> (Erein) es también el título elegido por el escritor Jon Arretxe para una novela negra que publica simultáneamente en euskera y castellano.</p><p><b>Pregunta.</b> Es usted viajero y escritor.</p><p><b>Respuesta.</b> No me defino, pero viajo y escribo. Empecé a escribir para recoger las experiencias que había recogido después de viajar durante diez años por la Amazonía, por países africanos o por Asia. Los primeros libros fueron literatura de viajes: crónica cuando el viaje era suficientemente interesante o ficción basada en esos viajes.</p><p><b>P.</b> ¿Por qué dio el paso a la literatura de género negro?</p><p><b>R.</b> Porque me apetecía, sin más. Siempre me ha gustado la literatura negra, los clásicos americanos como Dashiell Hammett o Chester Himes, y los nuevos como Mankell o Donna Leon. La novela y el cine negro siempre me han atraído.</p><p><b>P.</b> Pero empezó introduciendo el componente del humor.</p><p><b>R.</b> Sí, escribí un par de parodias de novela negra. Con la estructura del género, pero con un toque de absurdo.</p><p><b>P.</b> En el salto a la novela negra parece que no rompe del todo con su afición a los viajes.</p><p><b>R.</b> Sí, he aprovechado el poso de escritor de viajes. En los tres últimos libros el lugar donde transcurría la historia no ha sido un encuadre casual. Morto vivace (2007) se sitúa en París. Fatum (2008), en Lisboa. La ciudad es el personaje principal. Y ahora Shahmarán, que transcurre en Estambul y Munich, con continuas referencias al Kurdistán.</p><p><b>P.</b> ¿Qué encuentra de literario en Estambul? Le dedica mucha atención en la novela.</p><p><b>R.</b> Todo, todo. Lo que ves, lo que oyes, lo que hueles al salir a la calle. La ciudad va mostrando personajes, te ofrece las historias. El vendedor de sanguijuelas de la novela existe. Estambul me regaló una novela. Y luego aproveché lo que conocía del Kurdistán y de Munich. Me gusta ver la vida real de las ciudades y plasmarlo en la novela, no inventarlo. Me siento más cómodo cuando escribo de sitios que conozco bien. Me voy allí y escribo parte de la novela en el mismo escenario en el que se desarrolla la historia.</p><p><b>P.</b> De Munich no muestra la cara de la gran capital de Baviera.</p><p><b>R.</b> No, no aparecen las cerveceras o los museos. No son los escenarios donde se mueven los emigrantes turcos pobres. Es el contraste entre una madre que mantiene vivo el orgullo de su origen kurdo y los hijos que se preocupan por sobrevivir. Uno de ellos, matando por encargo.</p><p><b>P.</b> La xenofobia aparece claramente en la historia</p><p><b>R.</b> Sí, un poco de crítica social es una característica de la novela negra. El rechazo a los turcos es claro en Alemania, y en época de crisis más todavía.</p><p><b>P.</b> ¿Por qué cree que está de moda la novela negra?</p><p><b>R.</b> No tengo ni idea. No sabía ni que estaba de moda cuando empecé a hacerlo. Lo mismo me pasó cuando empecé a escribir de viajes.</p><p><b>P.</b> Escribe siempre en euskera. ¿Por qué deja la traducción al castellano en manos de otra persona?</p><p><b>R.</b> Mi primer libro lo traduje yo. Pensaba que estaba impecable y cuando lo leyeron otras personas les daba la risa. No nos damos cuenta de los vasquismos que utilizamos. Es mejor dejarlo en manos de profesionales que lo van a hacer mejor.</p><p><b>P.</b> Pero este libro aparece simultáneamente en euskera y castellano.</p><b>R.</b> Sí, la tirada es un poco mayor en euskera. El público euskaldun ya me conoce<p><br /></p>ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-28295953378294353592009-04-14T20:00:00.002+02:002009-04-14T20:03:54.185+02:00Los balnearios del Detroit turco Bursa. Cabeza de la ruta de la sedaEs paradójico. Los automóviles se han convertido en su alimento. Bursa subsiste gracias a las inmensas factorías de multinacionales como Fiat, Renault, Peugeot, Honda, Hyundai, Ford y Toyota. Pero la ciudad de los coches, la cuarta más importante de Turquía, los odia. Quiere desterrarlos de sus calles para convertirse en un foco turístico que compita con el exotismo de Estambul. Sus credenciales: las aguas termales que fluyen por sus cimientos, las inmensas pistas de esquí que parten desde la montaña Uludag... Y la Historia, ésa que la convirtió en la primera capital del imperio otomano en el siglo XIV -aún conserva los mauseleos de los dos primeros sultanes- y que le erigió en núcleo fundamental en el comercio de la seda. «Nuestro principal problema es el tráfico, que genera mucha contaminación. Por eso queremos limitar el movimiento de coches y acabar con la polución», expresa Sahabettin Harput, gobernador de este enclave situado en el noroeste de la república.<br />Resulta, en efecto, un tanto agobiante el impacto que recibe el visitante al desembarcar en una ciudad que lucha por convertirse en sede de los Juegos Olímpicos de Invierno de 2018. Los vehículos circulan con dificultad -por decirlo de alguna manera- por un lugar de estrechas calles, aunque acogedoras, atestadas de escaparates en los que golpean a la vista la gran cantidad de vestidos de novia y prendas de llamativos colores. A su lado compite el penetrante olor de las cafeterías y las pastelerías, con tentadoras pastas de té y las suculentas castañas escarchadas típicas de la zona, irresistibles para los golosos.<br />Roscos patrióticos<br />Es difícil no toparse con vendedores ambulantes que ofrecen roscos de sésamo con banderas turcas -la exaltación nacionalista es máxima- o con uno de sus múltiples restaurantes kebabs, donde venden el bocadillo del mundo árabe. Eso sí, con pan de pita. Pero en esta región hay que probar el 'iskender kebap', con finas tiras de carne de cordero y salsa de tomate. El visitante siempre encontrará uno; da igual que se mueva por la ciudad nueva o por la fortificada urbe antigua.<br />Y es que hay dos Bursas. La parte amurallada deslumbra en lo alto de una colina desde la que se descubre toda la ciudad. Se asientan los mauseleos de los dos primeros sultantes del imperio otomano, dos pequeños recintos en el que se conservan sus restos y el de su corte. También el castillo y la imponente torre del reloj, de 33 metros de altura y con 89 escalones de madera, llaman la atención en esta especie de parque por el que pasean los adolescentes con sus uniformes escolares propios de las universidades americanas.<br />En el resto del municipio se mezclan el pasado y el presente. Delante, por ejemplo, del mercado de la seda Koza Han (1491) y de la Gran Mezquita Ulu Camii (finales del siglo XIV) han plantado un McDonalds. Efectos de la globalización actual. Porque hubo otra. Esa época en la que esta ciudad crecía como uno de los principales centros de la Ruta de la Seda, ubicada en su extremo más occidental. «Éste era el centro mundial del comercio. Venían mercaderes de todas partes», proclama el guía local Nihat Tinik.<br />Conservado a la perfección, este recinto, de dos plantas cuadradas y con una especie de patio interior en el que se construyó una pequeña mezquita para que los comerciantes árabes oraran, guarda el atractivo de aquellos tiempos. Ahora no hay puestos, sino tiendas en las que se puede comprar todo tipo de prendas de seda: corbatas, pañuelos, camisas... Con una amable sonrisa, los comerciantes suelen ofrecer té (o café, siempre sin leche) y pastas al visitante, una proposición que se magnifica cuando se cierra una transacción. Entonces, idolatran al comprador como hicieron con la reina de Inglaterra cuando les visitó en octubre. Momento histórico que reflejan las fotografías que compiten con el colorido de los atractivos escaparates.<br />La Gran Mezquita, en la misma explanada, vigila el mercado. Es otro mundo. Un lugar de recogimiento. A las doce, una de las cinco horas de rezo, una multitud -la mayoría hombres, aunque este recinto posee una zona reservada para mujeres- se aproxima a la mayor mezquita de Bursa, con capacidad para dos mil personas y muestra de las primeras construcciones otomanas. Su gran aforo provocó que en el centro del recinto -formado por veinte cúpulas- se habilitara una fuente para purificar el ambiente y evitar una sensación de ahogo y pesadez en el aire (se consigue a medias). Cuenta la leyenda que el sonido del agua es uno de los preferidos en el islam. Hay otros dos: el del dinero y el de las mujeres.<br />Nieve y baños termales<br />Éste es sólo uno de los múltiples centros de oración que salpican cualquier ciudad del mundo árabe. Todas se distinguen por sus minaretes, desde donde se llama a los fieles. Y en la parte antigua de Bursa también luce la Mezquita Verde, que quedó inacabada por los problemas económicos que padeció el sultán Mehmet I en el siglo XV. En su interior aún se pueden ver las marcas que dejó el terremoto que destruyó parte de la ciudad en 1855. Su nombre se debe a su color, una tonalidad predilecta en el mundo musulmán y que deslumbra en los bosques que rodean la ciudad. El verde inunda las montañas que rodean este enclave, como el parque nacional del monte Uludag, candidata a acoger los Juegos de Invierno de 2018,o el color de su equipo de fútbol -con un estadio que parece una plaza de toros, redondo, y con una decena de tiendas de alquiler de coches en los bajos-...<br />Este color es su marca. Como en el futuro serán los hoteles termales y el esquí. Complejos en los que en lugar de sol y playa se disfrutará de la nieve y los baños relajantes. Ya existen varios balnearios con spa y todo tipo de actividades en las que el agua toma su máximo protagonismo. Pero Bursa quiere más. Y para ello invertirá una ingente cantidad de dinero. Con esta meta, y con la de limpiar su aire, ése que han contaminado los coches de los que ahora vive.ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-18539677685038545682009-02-09T08:18:00.000+01:002009-02-09T08:20:14.717+01:00Podría circuito de Estambul quedar fuera de la Fórmula Uno para 2011Tras los problemas entre la organización de la pista y el presidente de la categoría<br />El Financiero en línea<br />Estambul, 8 de febrero.- El circuito de Estambul podría quedar fuera de la temporada de Fórmula Uno a partir de 2011 debido a los problemas entre la organización de la pista y el presidente de la categoría, Bernie Ecclestone.<br />El mandatario de la máxima categoría del deporte motor señaló que la falta de pago de la renta del circuito obligaría a pensar en otras sedes pese a que el contrato expira dentro de dos años.<br />Ante esto, Can Guclu, director general de la pista turca, mencionó que se debe llegar a un acuerdo de forma rápida en busca de alargar el contrato para mantener a la ciudad como sede de la Fórmula Uno.<br />"Tememos que 2011 sea el último año que habrá Fórmula Uno en Estambul. Si queremos que el Gran Premio siga en el calendario, tenemos que empezar a trabajar de inmediato. No podemos empezar a negociar para la carrera el último año de contrato", indicó el directivo al diario local Zaman.<br />En caso de que el Gran Premio de Estambul quede fuera del calendario de Fórmula Uno, existen tres países interesados en albergar un "gran circo" como Bulgaria, Corea del Sur y Rusia.<br />En la temporada 2009 que arrancará el próximo mes de marzo, Estambul recibirá la competencia del 5 al 7 de junio. (Con información de Notimeispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-63053351846414978602008-07-18T22:55:00.001+02:002008-07-18T22:57:22.447+02:00SOCIEDAD ESPANOLA: LA GENERACION MILEURISTAMileurista<br />De Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre<br /><br />El neologismo mileurista (surgido a partir de mil euros) se aplica para definir a una persona perteneciente a la generación nacida en España entre 1965 y 1985 (aproximadamente) y con unos ingresos que no suelen superar los 1.000 euros al mes (según el Instituto Nacional de Estadística, el salario medio del asalariado español es de 1.538,17 euros brutos al mes (1.703,87 euros al mes para los que trabajan a jornada completa)[cita requerida]).<br /><br />Además de a la situación económica, el concepto se refiere a la alta formación académica exigida, pues con frecuencia para ser mileurista suele ser necesario tener estudios superiores incluidos los de máster, postgrado, e idiomas, todo ello en un mercado laboral que evidentemente no compensa dicha preparación.<br /><br />NUMERO DE AFECTADOSSegún Europa Press,[1] basándose en datos de la Agencia Tributaria del año 2006 recogidos por los Técnicos del Ministerio de Economía y Hacienda (Gestha) Existen casi 11 millones de personas que ganan menos de 13500 € brutos anuales, es decir, menos de 1100€ al mes, lo cual supone el 58% de los asalariados.Las comunidades autónomas con más mileuristas serían por este orden, Extremadura, con casi el 70% de la población, Murcia con el 67% y Andalucía con el 64%. Por encima del 50% se encontrarían Canarias, donde el 65% de sus asalariados son 'mileuristas', seguida de Castilla-La Mancha (60,6% del total), Galicia (60,6%), Baleares (60,3%) y Comunidad Valenciana (60,3%). La comunidad con menos "mileuristas" es, según Gestha, Ceuta, con el 45%.<br /><br />El mileurismo como fenómeno sociológico El Mileurismo, refiriéndose a una corriente sociológica más que a un tramo concreto de renta, es una palabra que fue empleada por la escritora española Espido Freire, quien ha escrito dos libros sobre la situación socioeconómica de la juventud española después de la Transición democrática que describe el vocablo. El primero fue Mileuristas: cuerpo, alma y mente de la generación de los 1000 euros (Barcelona: Editorial Ariel, 2006).<br /><br />Espido Freire define a los mileuristas, más que por sus ingresos alrededor de los mil euros al mes, como<br /><br />El conjunto de españoles de entre 25 y 30 años con formación superior, que desempeñan trabajos por debajo de su capacidad, que vuelcan buena parte de sus expectativas vitales en el ocio, se interesan por la cultura en sus formas más modernas y son pasivos y protestones. Pertenecen a la generación más preparada de la historia de España. Rondan la treintena, son universitarios y saben idiomas. Pero los bajos sueldos, la sobreabundancia de titulados y los cambios sociales les han impedido llegar a donde pensaban llegar. Comparten piso; no tienen coche, ni casa, ni hijos y ya se han dado cuenta de que el futuro no estaba donde creían. Es el equivalente español de los llamados JASP, "Jóvenes aunque sobradamente preparados". Universitarios, se encuentran en un mercado sobresaturado de universitarios. Con poco más de mil euros deben sostener una vida de adultos, por lo cual no pueden permitirse hijos ni relaciones estables, comparten piso con otros mileuristas y, aunque están mejor formados que sus jefes y saben idiomas y manejan instrumentos informáticos que éstos no conocen, son sistemáticamente ninguneados y despreciados por estos y no acceden a puestos de superior retribución. No se comunican por los habituales medios de comunicación de masas, sino por internet o móvil, medios que sus jefes no valoran e ignoran, son individualistas y carecen de conciencia de clase social. Son víctimas de hipotecas abusivas y emplean casi todo su dinero en el ocio.ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-30938535534292889162008-04-01T18:41:00.000+02:002008-04-01T18:42:19.656+02:00A threat of turmoil in TurkeyConsidering a ban on the ruling party<br /><br />TURKEY edged towards prolonged political and economic turmoil on Monday March 31st after the country's most senior court unanimously agreed to consider a case calling for the banning of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party and for the prime minister to be barred from office.<br />The decision by the Constitutional Court could lead to a dangerous escalation in tensions between the AK party, with its roots in Islam, and its secular detractors in the army and the judiciary, who accuse the party of leading the country towards sharia rule.<br /><br />In a 162-page indictment AK is accused of becoming “a centre for anti-secular activities” and the prosecutor calls for 71 of the party’s officials, including the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to be banned from politics for five years. The court, which is dominated by secular judges, voted without exception to consider the case. A majority of the judges also agreed to hear similar charges against the president, Abdullah Gul.<br />Mr Gul, who began politics in an overtly Islamist party, said the decision came as no surprise and promised to “carry on with business as usual.” The first signs of the case came at the start of the year after AK set out to ease a strict ban on the wearing of Islamic headscarves in universities. That provoked uproar among secular university rectors, who called it an assault on Ataturk's republic. It was cited as evidence in the prosecutor’s indictment along with various comments made by Mr Erdogan when he criticised restrictions on religious garb.<br />Turkey has shut at least four pro-Islamic parties since 1970. AK was formed by a group of moderate Islamists led by Mr Erdogan who came to power five years ago pledging to lead Turkey into the European Union. During its first term AK enacted a raft of radical reforms that persuaded EU leaders to open long-delayed membership talks. These, along with a strong economic record, helped AK to return to office last year with an increased share of the vote.<br />Western observers say the case against AK is unabashedly political and could further dampen Turkey's hopes of joining the EU. “In a normal European democracy, political issues are debated in parliament and decided in the ballot box, not in the courtroom,” said the EU's enlargement commissioner, Olli Rehn.<br />The case may be an act of desperation by an old guard whose power is waning as EU-inspired changes take hold. Most obvious among them is the army, which has long tried to dictate policy from behind the scenes. The generals suffered a humiliating defeat last year when a campaign to prevent Mr Gul from becoming president backfired. Fearing that Mr Gul would rubber stamp AK-inspired laws, they went as far as to threaten a coup. Judges weighed in on the army's side and Mr Gul was forced to withdraw after the Constitutional Court upheld opposition claims that parliament lacked a quorum during a first round of balloting.<br />But AK's big electoral win allowed Mr Gul to revive his presidential ambitions and to claim the post in a fresh vote. Meddling by the army probably helped to bolster AK's ratings. A defiant Mr Erdogan has predicted that efforts to ban his party will have the same effect now. In any case, most outlawed parties resurrect themselves under a new name. So why bother trying to ban AK? Some pundits speculate that, rather than closing the party, the court will bar Mr Erdogan and a few of his lieutenants from politics. Without its charismatic leader the party would disintegrate, allowing the secular opposition to seize power again.<br />But things may not be that simple. Mr Erdogan is threatening to tweak the constitution to make it harder to ban political parties. He would then seek a referendum on the changes. Opposition leaders give warning that such “provocations” would lead to more tensions. AK officials counter that the greater risk is if their disgruntled supporters disregard Mr Erdogan's appeals for calm and take to the streets. Violence might ensue. Either way, Turkey's future is looking decidedly more unsure.ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-45929053098062674782008-03-24T07:44:00.000+01:002008-03-24T07:46:11.864+01:00ispanyolca kursu: Vocabulario de PROFESIONES, LUGARES DE TRABAJO Y ESTUDIOS (MESLEKLER, IŞ YERLERİ VE ÖĞRENİMLER Sözlüğü)Vocabulario / Sözlük-Verbos /Fiiller:Estudiar: verbo regular. Ders çalışmakTrabajar: verbo regular.Çalışmak-Conjunción /Bağlaç:O: veya.-Interrogativo /Soru:¿Qué?: Ne...?-Nombres /Isimler:Estudiante: ÖğrenciMedicina: Hekimlik, TıpUniversidad: Üniversite-Profesiones /Meslekler -Estudios /Öğrenim -Lugar / YerMédico - Medicina - HospitalEnfermero/a - Enfermería - Hospitalfarmaceutico/a - Farmacia - FarmaciaAbogado/a - Derecho - OficinaEmpresario/a - Empresariales - OficinaSecretario/a - Secretariado - OficinaContable - Contabilidad - OficinaIngeniero - Ingenieria - OficinaBanquero/a - Economía - BancoPeriodista - Periodismo - Television, Radio, PrensaPolicia - ComisaríaCamarero/a Hostelería Bar, Restaurante, HotelCocinero/a " "Arquitecto Arquitectura EstudioFrutero/a FruteríaCarnicero/a CarniceríaPanadero/a PanaderíaPescatero /a PescaderíaDependiente/a TiendaCantante - Mùsica, SolfeoMusico - Mùsica, SolfeoPintor/a -Bellas ArtesEscultor/a - Bellas ArtesFotografo/aTaxista - TaxiChofer - AutobusCamionero - CamiónJubilado/aActivadades / Aktiviteler¿Estudias o Trabajas? Soy banquero. (Okuyormusun veya çalışıyormusun?) Ben Bankacıyım¿Dónde trabajas? Trabajo en el banco Kredi. (Nerede çalışıyorsun? Yapı Kredi de çalışıyorum)¿Estudias o Trabajas? Soy estudiante. (Okuyormusun veya çalışıyormusun?) Öğrenciyim¿Qué estudias? Estudio Bellas Artes. (Ne okuyorsun? Güzel Sanatlar okuyorum)¿Dónde estudias? Estudio en la Universidad de Bilbao. (Nerede okuyorsun?)¿Estudias o Trabajas? Soy camarero. (Okuyormusun veya çalışıyormusun?) Garsonum¿Dónde trabajas? Trabajo en el Hotel Malena. (Nerede çalışıyorsun?)ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-65059663117003588472008-03-05T08:42:00.002+01:002008-03-05T08:48:50.069+01:00ispanyolca kursu:LECCION 2- Verbos Regulares (Tiempo Presente) /Düzenli Fiiller (Şimdiki Zaman)Verbos /FiillerHay verbos irregulares y regulares. Ahora aprendemos a conjugar los verbos regulares. Hay 3 tipos:İspanyolca'da düzensiz ve düzenli fiiller vardır. Şimdi Düzenli Fiiller çekimini ögreniyoruz. 3 tip vardır:<br /><br />1)Terminación –AR (Ej. hablAR) (Sonu -AR ile bitenler)<br />Yo habl-O<br />Tú habl-AS<br />Él /Ella /Usted habl-A<br />Nosotros /Nosotras habl-AMOS<br />Vosotros /Vosotras habl-AIS<br />Ellos /Ellas /Ustedes habl-AN<br /><br />2)Terminación –ER (Ej. bebER) (Sonu -ER ile bitenler)<br />Yo beb-OTú beb-ES<br />Él /Ella /Usted beb-E<br />Nosotros /Nosotras beb-EMOS<br />Vosotros /Vosotras beb-EIS<br />Ellos /Ellas /Ustedes beb-EN<br /><br />3)Terminación –IR (Ej. vivIR) (Sonu -İR ile bitenler)<br />Yo viv-O<br />Tú viv-ES<br />Él /Ella /Usted viv-E<br />Nosotros /Nosotras viv-IMOS<br />Vosotros /Vosotras viv-IS<br />Ellos /Ellas /Ustedes viv-EN<br /><br />Vocabulario<br />Lenguas: diller<br />Un poco de: Bir az<br />Español: ispanyolca<br />Turco: türkçe<br />Cola: cola<br /><br />Interrogativo /Soru¿Qué?: Ne? Hangi?ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-71573899149781613332008-03-04T19:53:00.001+01:002008-03-04T19:56:13.679+01:00ispanyolca kursu:LECCION 1- Saludos y Despedidas (Selamlar ve Vedalaşmalar)Hola (Merhaba)<br />Adiós (Allaha Ismarladık)<br />Buenos días (Günaydın)<br />Hasta luego (Sonra görüşürüz)<br />Buenas tardes (İyi akşamlar)<br />Hasta mañana (Yarın görüşürüz)<br />Buenas noches (İyi geceler)<br />Nos vemos (Görüşürüz)<br />Encantado: Memnun oldum (erkek için)<br />Encantada: memnun oldum (kız için)<br />Pronombres Personales (Kişi zamirleri):<br />Yo (Ben)<br />Tú (Sen)<br />Él ( O /erkek)<br />Ella ( O /kız)<br />Usted (Siz /erkek ve kız/resmi konuşmalarda)<br />Nosotros (Biz erkek yoksa Karışık Grup)Nosotras (Biz Kız)<br />Vosotros (Siz erkek yoksa Karışık Grup)Vosotras (Siz kız)<br />Ellos (Onlar erkek yoksa Karışık grup)Ellas (Onlar kız)Ustedes (Sizler erkek ve kız/resmi konuşmalarda)<br />Verbo (Fiiller):<br />Llamarse (Adı ... olmak)Yo me llamoTú te llamasÉl /Ella /Usted se llamaNosotros /Nosotras nos llamamosVosotros /Vosotras os llamaisEllos /Ellas /Ustedes se llaman<br />Not: İspanyolcada fiilli cümleler yapılırken kişi zamirleri cümlede olmak zorunda değildir. Kişi fiil çekiminde ifade edilebilir.<br />Interrogativo (Soru Kelimeleri): ¿Cómo? (Nasıl)Símbolos (Semboller): ¡(...)! ¿(...)? (İspanyolcada soru cümlelerinin başına ters soru işareti sonuna da normal soru işareti konulur.)<br />Actividad (Aktivite):Adın ne? Adım Ozan. ¿Cómo te llamas (tú)? Me llamo OzanAdı ne? Adı Gülay. ¿Cómo se llama (ella)? Se llama GülayAdınız ne? Adımız Kaan ve Alper. ¿Cómo os llamais? Nos llamamos Kaan y AlperAdları ne? Adları Eda ve Furkan. ¿Cómo se llaman? Se llaman Eda y FurkanAdınız ne? Adım Lara. ¿Cómo se llama (Usted)? Me llamo Laraispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-76284984638757684442008-02-27T11:18:00.000+01:002008-02-27T11:19:46.503+01:00Turkey strives for 21st century form of Islam<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/iantraynor" name="&amp;lid={articleBody}{Ian Traynor}&amp;lpos={articleBody}{1}">Ian Traynor</a>, Europe editor <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian" name="&amp;lid={articleBody}{The Guardian}&amp;lpos={articleBody}{2}">The Guardian</a>,<br />Wednesday February 27 2008<br /><br />Turkey is engaged in a bold and profound attempt to rewrite the basis for Islamic sharia law while also officially reinterpreting the Qur'an for the modern age.<br />The exercise in reforming Islamic jurisprudence, sponsored by the modernising and mildly Islamic government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, is being seen as an iconoclastic campaign to establish a 21st century form of Islam, fusing Muslim beliefs and tradition with European and western philosophical methods and principles.<br />The result, say experts following the ambitious experiment, could be to diminish Muslim discrimination against women, banish some of the brutal penalties associated with Islamic law, such as stoning and amputation, and redefine Islam as a modern, dynamic force in the large country that pivots between east and west, leaning into the Middle East while aspiring to join the European Union.<br />A team of reformist Islamic scholars at Ankara University, acting under the auspices of the Diyanet or Directorate of Religious Affairs, the government body which oversees the country's 8,000 mosques and appoints imams, is said to be close to concluding a "reinterpretation" of parts of the Hadith, the collection of thousands of aphorisms and comments said to derive from the prophet Muhammad and which form the basis of Islamic jurisprudence or sharia law. "One of the team doing the revision said they are nearly finished," said Mustafa Akyol, an Istanbul commentator who reflects the thinking of the liberal camp in Erdogan's governing AK party. "They have problems with the misogynistic hadith, the ones against women. They may delete some from the collection, declaring them not authentic. That would be a very bold step. Or they may just add footnotes, saying they should be understood from a different historical context."<br />Fadi Hakura, a Turkey expert at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, described the project as an attempt to make Turkish Sunni Islam "fully compatible with contemporary social and moral values.<br />"They see this not as a revolution, but as a return to the original Islam, away from the excessive conservatism that has stymied all reforms for the last few centuries. It's somewhat akin to the Christian reformation, although not the same."<br />Under the guidance of Ali Bardokoglu, the liberal Islamic scholar who heads the religious directorate and was appointed by Erdogan, the Ankara theologians are writing a new five-volume "exegesis" of the Qur'an, taking the sacred text apart forensically, rooting it in its time and place, and redefining its message to and relevance for Muslims today. They are also ditching some of the Hadith, sayings ascribed to and comments on the prophet collected a couple of hundred years after his death.<br />A Roman Catholic Jesuit expert on Turkey and Islam, Felix Koerner, is working with the Ankara professors, reportedly schooling them in the history of western religious and philosophical change and how to apply the lessons of historical Christian reform movements to modern Islam. "This is really a synthesis of modern European critical thought and Muslim Ottoman Koranic tradition," said Koerner. "There is also a political agenda. With this government there is more confidence in these modern theologians."<br />Erdogan insists his AK party, in a country that is constitutionally secularist, is a Turkish Muslim equivalent of a European Christian democratic party - traditionalist, conservative, based on religious values, but democratic, tolerant, and liberal. With Spain and the Zapatero government, he is pushing an "Alliance of Civilisations" aimed at a rapprochement between the Muslim and western worlds. After years of fighting the militantly secularist Turkish establishment, he has just succeeded in lifting the ban on Islamic headscarves for girls in higher education. His many opponents decry it as part of Turkey's slide away from secularism down the slippery slope of Islamism.<br />Sources say the Islamic reform project is so ambitious and so fundamental it will take years to complete, but that it is already paying dividends - abolition of the death penalty, a campaign against honour killings, and the training and appointment of several hundred women as imams.<br />At a glance<br />The Hadith are narrations of the life of the prophet Muhammad and his companions and are considered an important source of material on religious practice, law, history and biography. Hadith relate what the prophet said, did or liked. Most Muslims consider the Hadith to be an essential addition to and clarification of the Qur'an. In Islamic jurisprudence the holy book contains guidelines about the behaviour expected from Muslims but there are no specific rules on many matters. Hadith influence around 90% of sharia, or Islamic law, and the most controversial ones concern the violent punishments meted out to adulterers and apostates, the role and treatment of women and jihad.Riazat Buttispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-61790220451638603752008-02-22T08:11:00.001+01:002008-02-22T08:11:57.001+01:00Manchester am BosporusDie Türkei feiert ihr »Wirtschaftswunder«. Vor allem der Werftsektor boomt. Arbeiter hingegen müssen für Hungerlöhne ihr Leben riskieren<br />Von Nico Sandfuchs, Ankara<br /><br />Der türkische Schiffbau boomt. Wie die meisten anderen Sektoren der Wirtschaft konnten sich auch die Eigner der großen Werften, die fast alle in der südlich von Istanbul gelegenen Region Tuzla angesiedelt sind, in den vergangenen Jahren über satte Gewinne freuen. Allein die Exporterlöse der Branche verdreifachten sich zwischen 2004 und 2007 von rund 700 Millionen US-Dollar auf knapp zwei Milliarden Dollar jährlich. Die Erfolgsstory der Werftbosse ist bezeichnend für die Türkei, wo nahezu sämtliche Wirtschaftszweige seit Amtsantritt der gemäßigt-islamischen Regierung unter Ministerpräsident Tayyip Erdogan ähnliche Umsatzsteigerungen hinlegen konnten. Auch der Umstand, daß sich die zweistelligen Zuwächse der Schiffbauunternehmen in den Lohntüten der Werftarbeiter nicht widerspiegelt, ist typisch: Ähnlich sieht es bei ihren Kollegen im Textilsektor oder im Baugewerbe aus. Denn von dem vielbeschworenen »türkischen Wirtschaftswunder«, das die neoliberale Politik Erdogans dem Lande angeblich beschert hat, ist bei der werktätigen Bevölkerung bislang nichts angekommen. Tageslöhne von umgerechnet kaum 15 Euro, fehlende Sozialversicherung, Wochenarbeitszeiten von 60 Stunden und mehr, Lohnkürzung oder Kündigung im Krankheitsfalle – unter diesen Umständen wird die türkische Arbeitskraft billig gehalten und so das vermeintliche Wirtschaftswunder am Bosporus überhaupt erst ermöglicht.<br />Tödliche ArbeitsunfälleDie Arbeitsbedingungen beim Schiffbau sind sogar für türkische Verhältnisse derart kraß, daß sie inzwischen selbst in der einheimischen Boulevardpresse thematisiert werden. Denn nicht nur die Gewinne der Werfteigner haben sich in den letzten Jahren verdreifacht: Die Zahl der Arbeiter, die während der Maloche ums Leben kommen, ist von durchschnittlich fünf auf mindestens 20 pro Jahr in die Höhe geschnellt. Allein seit Anfang des Jahres starben in der Region Tuzla bereits vier Werftarbeiter bei Arbeitsunfällen. Für den Verband der Schiffbauer (GISBIR) tragen die Arbeiter allerdings selbst die Schuld an den Unfällen. »Wir treffen alle Vorkehrungen, aber die Arbeiter sind einfach viel zu nachlässig bei der Umsetzung«, behauptete kürzlich Verbandschef Kenan Torlak. »Es ist Pflicht, Handschuhe und Schutzhelm zu tragen. Aber manche halten diese Vorschrift nicht ein.« In den Ohren der Funktionäre der Gewerkschaft Limter-Is klingen die Worte der Werftbesitzer geradezu wie Hohn. Viele der verunglückten Arbeiter wurden von tonnenschweren Stahlteilen erschlagen oder stürzten von wackeligen Gerüsten mehrere Dutzend Meter in die Tiefe. Daß das Tragen von Handschuhen und Helm die Überlebenschancen bei dieser Art von Unfällen kaum wesentlich erhöht, dürfte auch den Werftbossen klar sein, meint der Gewerkschaftsvorsitzende Cem Dinc. In Wahrheit würden die Arbeitsunfälle bewußt in Kauf genommen. Die Auftragsbücher sind voll, das Arbeitstempo ist dementsprechend hoch, selbst einfache Arbeitsschutzvorkehrungen würden umgangen, weil sie zu einem Zeitverlust führten. So würde ganz bewußt eher der Tod eines Arbeiters in Kauf genommen als die Konventionalstrafe, die drohe, wenn ein Auftrag nicht pünktlich ausgeführt wird. Verschärfend komme noch hinzu, daß ein Großteil der Beschäftigten ungelernte Leiharbeiter seien, die von Arbeitsvermittlern vor allem in Südostanatolien, dem Armenhaus des Landes, für Hungerlöhne rekrutiert würden. Gerade einmal zehn Prozent der 24000 Werftarbeiter, die in der Region Tuzla ihr Brot verdienten, sind den Angaben von Limter-Is zufolge fest angestellt. Der Rest sind ungelernte Zeitarbeiter, die zumeist nie zuvor in der Branche gearbeitet haben. Eine Umgehung sämtlicher Sicherheitsstandards, völlig übermüdete Malocher, die statt der vorgeschriebenen 37,5 Wochenstunden selten weniger als 70 Stunden arbeiten, ungelerntes Personal – tödliche Unfälle sind unter diesen Bedingungen geradezu programmiert.Die Angaben der Gewerkschaft über die horrenden Arbeitsbedingungen werden auch durch eine Studie der Regierung bestätigt. Im April des vergangenen Jahres ließ das Arbeitsministerium 44 Werften auf die Einhaltung der Arbeitsschutzbestimmungen überprüfen. Mehr als 500 schwerwiegende Mängel traten dabei zutage. Grund genug für ein Eingreifen ist dies allerdings auch vor dem Hintergrund der gehäuften Todesfälle nicht – man will die boomende Industrie schließlich nicht bremsen.<br />Streik für mehr SicherheitDie Gewerkschaft Limter plant deshalb nun einen Streik, um zumindest die Einhaltung der Sicherheitsstandards und einen Einstellungsstopp für Leiharbeiter zu erreichen. Von Gesprächsbereitschaft ist auf seiten der Werftbesitzer derweil keine Spur. Arbeiter, die vergangenen Samstag protestiertenw, wurden statt dessen kurzerhand auf die Straße gesetzt. Das rigide Vorgehen gegen jede Form von gewerkschaftlicher Organisation und Widerstand hat bereits dafür gesorgt, daß gerade viele der Leiharbeiter, die keine festen Verträge haben, einem Streik skeptisch gegenüberstehen: »Die Bosse sitzen einfach am längeren Hebel. Denn wenn Ali nicht arbeitet, dann kommt eben Mehmet und arbeitet für ihn. Und wenn Mehmet nicht arbeitet, dann kommt Hasan. Wenn ich sage, ich setze mich für 15 Euro am Tag nicht länger diesen Bedingungen aus, dann kommt einer, der die gleiche Arbeit sogar für zehn Euro macht – weil er das Geld noch viel nötiger braucht als ich«, sagt ein Arbeiter. Arbeitskraft ist billig im Wirtschaftswunderland Türkei. Und Menschenleben sind es auch.ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-86127437240905010762007-10-27T09:27:00.001+02:002008-02-21T10:01:40.660+01:00Why Turkey MattersTurkey’s increasing significance is arresting the world’s attention. Here’s why it should arrest yours. By Joel Hilliker<br /><br />Suddenly, Turkey is all over the headlines.<br />Most Americans would tend to underestimate its significance. But why, in the midst of October, did an outburst of public discussion center on whether to call the World War i-era Turkish killing of Armenians a “genocide”? Why did Congress raise the issue, and why did the White House scramble to squelch it?<br />The crux of debate rested on the potential for losing Turkey’s help in the war in Iraq. Its role as vital supply route for U.S. troops took center stage. In fact, some analysts suggested that the Democrat-led Congress pushed the “genocide” issue to alienate Turkey in an underhanded effort to spite the president and torpedo the Iraq war.<br />Is it really possible that this nation—about which few Americans concern themselves—could make the difference between victory and defeat in Iraq?<br />Who knew Turkey was so important?<br />At the Crossroads<br />The instant clamor surrounding that single issue is a meaningful symbol of just how much this historically pivotal nation is rising again to prominence in modern geopolitics.<br />Turkey sits right at the crossroads of a developing clash of civilizations. Its population is almost wholly Muslim, but its constitution is staunchly secular. It is a democracy and a constitutional republic, yet since 1960 its military leaders have overthrown four duly elected governments for being too religious. It is anchored to the Middle East as a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, yet welded to the West within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. On top of that, a pillar in its foreign policy for a generation has been its bid for membership in the European Union.<br />The U.S. is not alone in trying to come to grips with this complex geopolitical puzzle. Nations across the globe are coming to see that, for all its contradictions, and after decades of quiet since the Ottoman Empire collapsed at the end of World War i, Turkey is shaping up to be an extremely significant global player. As the world increasingly fractures into regional blocs—the United States, the Middle East, Europe, Asia—Turkey remains a distinct entity whose value to all of these powers is rapidly rising.<br />This exceptional position, which we can witness developing right before us, appears to be setting Turkey up perfectly for the unique role it plays in end-time biblical prophecy.<br />Why the World Is Taking Note<br />Turkey is attracting interest for a number of reasons.<br />First, its economy is on fire—it is one of the fastest-growing on Earth. Since 2002, under the leadership of the Justice and Development Party (akp), the economy has transformed. It is now the largest Muslim economy, and the largest in the region. Turkey is a member of the G-20, a gathering of the world’s 20 largest economies. It is playing its cards wisely, reducing restrictions on trade with Muslim states while simultaneously cultivating relationships with European and other nations.<br />As Dr. George Friedman put it, “The ability of Greece, Armenia, Syria, Iraq and Iran to remain hostile to Turkey decreases as the Turkish economy grows. Ideology and history are very real things, but so is the economic power of a dynamic economy” (Stratfor, July 31).<br />Of course, a large Turkish economy means a large Turkish military. Already it is nato’s second-largest armed force after the U.S., with over 1 million uniformed personnel. This reality has several ramifications regarding the balance of power in the Middle East and elsewhere.<br />Second, Turkey is comfortably stepping into a ready-made role as a vital energy hub linking Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.<br />This is one of the most geographically strategic countries in the world—a literal bridge between continents. On its west, Turkey borders Greece and Bulgaria—EU nations; on its south, Syria, Iraq and Iran—Middle Eastern Muslim states; and on its east, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan—former Soviet republics. It connects to the Mediterranean, Black and Aegean seas, and encompasses the vital Bosporus and Dardanelles sea gates, linking Central Asia to the Mediterranean. In a world increasingly driven by energy politics, its unique location translates into valuable energy transit routes for more and more nations.<br />With Russia aggressively taking over global oil and natural gas markets, uncomfortable customers, particularly those in Europe, are actively seeking energy from other sources. Turkey is in the right place at the right time, with major oil pipelines being built across its soil, circumventing Russian territory altogether. It is proving itself a worthy middleman for energy from not only former Soviet republics Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, but also Iraq and Iran. In addition, Turkey, in conjunction with foreign investors and companies, is building new oil refineries that will increase its worth even more. Analysts say the nation’s refining capacity should double within only a few years.<br />This reality seems tailor-made to suit Ankara’s foreign-policy interests, because the entity hungriest for non-Russian energy happens to be the very one Turkey has been working so hard to pretty itself up for: Europe.<br />Naturally, the whole situation also deeply concerns Russia, whose monopolistic energy tendencies are undercut by Turkey’s activities. On top of that, Russia is robustly fighting a strong Islamist incursion on its southwestern border, particularly against Muslim separatists in Chechnya—and it possesses proof that Turkey has financially supported and trained Chechen terrorists in their struggle for independence.<br />A third reason for Turkey’s growing relevance—as became abundantly evident in October—is its role in the unfolding drama surrounding the future of Iraq.<br />A Strained Alliance<br />The Iraq war has created bad blood between the U.S. and Turkey. The Turks have long struggled with a restive Kurdish population in their southeast region, driven by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (pkk). This terrorist group seeks to carve an independent Kurdish state out of territory in southeast Turkey, as well as parts of Syria, Iraq and Iran. Whatever differences these four nations have, they are united in their determination to stop Kurdistan from materializing.<br />The fact that the U.S. empowered the Iraqi Kurds by eliminating Saddam Hussein rocked the American-Turkish alliance. In 2003, Ankara simply refused to let the U.S. invade Iraq from Turkish territory—a major snub from a nato ally. Add to that a turning of the historic tables: With a growing economy and military, Turkey simply isn’t as dependent on the U.S. as it once was. In fact, since the U.S. has gotten entrenched in Iraq, it has come to depend deeply on Turkey: 70 percent of its Iraq-bound air cargo and 33 percent of its fuel passes through Turkey, and it heavily uses the Incirlik Air Base for refueling operations and cargo flights to both Iraq and Afghanistan.<br />The upshot is, Turkey feels very comfortable with ignoring Washington’s wishes and doing what it feels it must to protect its own interests.<br />Recent events highlight just how monumental this change is.<br />In an October attack, pkk rebels killed 13 Turkish soldiers; the people of Turkey angrily demanded retaliation. The government bombed and shelled northern Iraq, and then the parliament approved plans to launch a ground invasion.<br />All this fuss puts the U.S. in an awkward spot. The Kurdish north has been the most stable part of Iraq since Saddam Hussein’s ouster in 2003, and Washington would rather nothing upset that. Supporting Turkey could well alienate the Kurdish allies the U.S. has built there, and the whole situation may further destabilize Iraq—something U.S. and Iraqi leaders are desperate to avoid.<br />But the amazing thing is, the Turks just don’t care. “We don’t need anyone’s advice on northern Iraq and the operation to be carried out there,” Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said. Reuters reported that the crowd in Istanbul cheered this pronouncement, and cheered again when he said that the U.S. “came tens of thousands of kilometers and attacked Iraq without asking anyone’s permission.”<br />Amid these developments, the timing couldn’t have been worse for the U.S. congressional committee’s “genocide” resolution. Turkey bristled at the news, recalling its ambassador in the U.S. and threatening to close its doors to American troops. Anti-American demonstrations spilled into the streets, according to the Jerusalem Post. “All prospects look bad … and relations with the U.S. have already gone down the drain,” Turkish foreign policy expert Semih Idiz said.<br />The White House responded by going into full damage control mode: It issued public statements condemning the measure, it essentially apologized to Turkey’s leaders, and it finally convinced Congress to kill the resolution. The fervor of the response revealed just how desperately the U.S. needs Turkey’s cooperation in order to resolve the crisis in Iraq in a manner suited to its own national interests. But the U.S. isn’t the only country in that situation. So is the other primary external player in this theater: Iran.<br />An Islamic Shift<br />In practical terms, as Washington contemplates reducing its presence in Iraq, its primary concern is to try to prevent Iran from simply taking over—not just Iraq but virtually the entire Middle East. In Turkey, it sees the closest thing it has to a regional counterbalance to Iran.<br />Unfortunately, it so happens that all this friction between Ankara and Washington has strengthened Turkey’s historically wary relationship with Iran.<br />Something else that could strengthen this relationship—and markedly change the balance within several of the precarious situations in which Turkey plays a role—occurred on August 28, when Turkish parliamentarians elected a former Islamist as president.<br />The new president, Abdullah Gül, is a bit of a puzzle. He was a cabinet member in one of the Islamic governments the military ousted in the 1990s—yet he has been a leading supporter of his nation’s EU membership bid. His devotion to Europe certainly placates the nation’s generals and military commanders, but his religion still chafes against their fierce loyalty to the secularist ideals institutionalized in 1923 by the nation’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. His political party, the akp, has an Islamist pedigree and maintains pan-Islamic ties throughout the region. Turkey’s secularist military suspects that it retains a masked Islamist agenda.<br />Stratfor noted that, because the president chooses judges and hence dominates the judiciary, having Gül as president means that “for the first time since the founding of the Turkish republic more than 80 years ago, a political force rooted in Islamism essentially controls all of the key civilian institutions of the state” (August 29, emphasis mine). Stratfor expects the akp to seek to use its new power as a beachhead to move the nation away from secularism and toward the freer expression of religion in public life; it anticipates drama ahead as the akp is forced “to balance pan-Islamic issues with Turkish nationalist objectives” (ibid.). Though this analysis probably overstates how much Turkey will change under President Gül, we would not be surprised to see the nation proceed with a more sympathetic economic and foreign policy toward the leading Arab and Muslim energy producers in the region.<br />Any shift within Turkey away from secularism and toward Islam could help alter the balance of power in the Middle East—most notably, in favor of Iran.<br />A Nightmare for Israel?<br />In 1996, Turkey inked a mutual defense deal with Israel that, for years, analysts credited with contributing to the relative stability of the region. The Islamic Affairs Analyst went so far as to say that Israel’s enemies respected Turkey enough that the Jewish state’s national survival was all but assured as long as the deal stood.<br />Events in the past couple of years, however, have shown that whatever deterrent effect Turkey once had has already weakened to some degree: Iran and Syria have unleashed forces in Lebanon and within Israel against the Jewish state with few qualms. But, given Turkey’s new Islamic leadership, this trend could get worse.<br />Any further weakening of Turkey’s restraining influence on Iranian power is a nightmare for Israel, which Iran has committed itself to eliminating.<br />Tensions between Washington and Ankara over Iraq have already opened a door for the Islamic Republic. Suspicion between Turkey and Iran has thawed in recent years, and ties have improved. The fact that Turkey is now ruled by a Muslim—albeit Sunni—rather than a secularist certainly doesn’t hurt.<br />The more cooperative these two nations are, the more latitude the Turks are likely to give Iran without feeling directly threatened as Tehran pursues its regional ambitions.<br />Watch for that cooperation to increase—and for Iran to become even more brazen.<br />Unrequited Love<br />What does Turkey get out of the deal? If nothing else, it gets Iranian energy—energy it can pass on to Europe.<br />The two countries have just completed an oil pipeline that will pump 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil a day into Turkey. And the Turkish Petroleum Corp. has announced plans to invest $3.5 billion in Iran’s South Pars natural gas field. This project would include building the means to transport Iranian gas through Turkey to Europe. The U.S., though flatly opposed to the deal, can do little to stop it.<br />Ultimately, even under an Islamic president, it appears Europe is who Turkey most wants to please. Ankara simply sees Iran as a workable partner in increasingly procuring the energy that Europe desperately wants. Radio Free Europe reports that for decades to come, Iranian gas may be Europe’s most viable source of non-Russian gas. Nothing Turkey could do would strengthen its value to the EU more than its growth as an energy hub.<br />Even the slippage in Turkey’s relationship with the United States is driving it more toward Europe, according to Semih Idiz. Speaking of the Iraq crisis, Idiz said, “Having its relations with the U.S. ‘electrified,’ Ankara will be more and more eager to grab hold of the EU anchor” (Turkish Weekly, September 1).<br />President Gül has strongly emphasized his intent to forge ahead with plans to join the European Union, plans that will require further economic reforms and constitutional amendments. His ally, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also from the Justice and Development Party, has outlined a five-year program to increase individual freedoms, further boost the economy, and, above all, strengthen the nation’s case for EU membership.<br />Biblical prophecy indicates, however, that although Turkey will remain committed to its romance with Europe, all these efforts are doomed to fail—just as they always have.<br />Turkey’s Image Problem<br />From the time Atatürk himself famously admonished his countrymen to “turn toward Europe,” Turkey has labored, to varying degrees, to cast itself in the image of the West. For the past decade, it has worked overtime.<br />Still, for every obstacle Turkey hurdles, the EU throws up another. Since 1987, when Turkey applied for full membership, 15 other states have cut to the front of the line and been accepted: Austria, Finland, Sweden, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania. The Turks have watched the Union swell from 12 states to 27, while they remain peering through the window from the outside.<br />Now, the prospect of becoming an energy bridge to the Continent has inflamed Turkey’s hopes of finally convincing the EU to return the love.<br />Those hopes are wasted. Try as it may to overcome it, Turkey clearly has an image problem among Europe’s decision makers—and even its voters. Just this year, France elected a president—Nicolas Sarkozy—who campaigned on opposition to Turkish EU membership.<br />Why? Why is Europe so opposed to considering Turks European citizens? Only one major issue separates Turkey from all the other nations being granted their pass into the Union: religion.<br />The fundamentally Roman Catholic continent simply has no intention of incorporating 70 million Muslims in one swoop. And Turkey—with its Ottoman history, which at one time threatened Catholicism’s very existence—has particularly negative associations in European minds. As Bernard Lewis expresses it, “[T]here is still a reserve of mistrust, and even at times of hostility [toward Turks], with roots deep in the European Christian past” (From Babel to Dragomans).<br />The election of an openly Islamic president has only solidified Europe’s unspoken yet inflexible resistance to embracing Turkey. Still, given this nation’s growing strategic value to Europe, watch for the EU to continue to dangle carrots and incentives to keep the Turks onside. And as Europe grows in power in the time ahead, Ankara’s devotion to the European cause will only grow along with it.<br />Thus, Turkey is destined to remain suspended between worlds—always searching, ever more desperate to please.<br />A Shocking Betrayal<br />These trends become far more significant in light of the Bible’s description of Turkey’s place in end-time events. It is only with the revelation of God’s Word that we can understand why Turkey truly matters.<br />The biblical prophecies regarding events in the Middle East are clear: A Muslim-Jewish war is about to erupt—initiated by Islamic forces clearly unrestrained by Turkey or anything else. That conflagration will trigger a series of events leading to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.<br />When the Muslims move to sack Jerusalem, it will provoke a united European bloc of nations to intervene. This bloc will set up armies around Jerusalem—appearing like a “peacekeeping force”—but quickly transforming into a deadly war machine (Luke 21:20). It won’t be just Arabs or Muslims that suffer at their hands; this European power will turn its full force on the nations of Israel—including America and Britain. This horrifying double-cross is discussed in Ezekiel 23. Many in the Jerusalem area will be trapped!<br />The Prophet Obadiah recorded an extraordinary prophecy about “Edom,” whose modern descendants are the Turks. (Request a free copy of the Trumpet’s December 1997 article “Turkey: An Act of Revenge!” for a detailed explanation of this prophecy.) It shows how Turkey, possessing the escape route via land—the Cilician Gates mountain pass—will actually betray those Israelis, Americans and British who are trying to escape, delivering them into the hands of their conquerors. This is one last act, true to present form, of Turkey attempting to curry favor with Europe!<br />The description of these events reveals several things that illuminate the meaning of present-day headlines.<br />One, the fact that those escapees look to Turkey strongly indicates that Turkey’s alliances with the U.S. and with Israel will remain, at least in name.<br />Two, the betrayal may mean we can expect still more friction to develop within these alliances, like that which has arisen over the “genocide” question and the Kurd condition in Iraq. Though the U.S. still enjoys the support of Turkey’s secularist military, anti-Americanism is rampant and growing within Turkish media and among the Turkish people—a fact that the U.S., as desperate as it is to retain Turkey’s help, is willing to overlook.<br />Three, for Turkey, relations with Europe will continue to trump all other foreign-policy considerations.<br />Thus, based on biblical prophecy, in the end the Trumpet expects recent events that have thrust Turkey into the headlines only to cement the unique position this nation already occupies in modern geopolitics. They may tax Turkey’s agreements with the U.S. and Israel, but will not destroy them. They may increase Turkey’s cooperation with Muslim states, shifting the balance of power in favor of Iran, but that cooperation will fall short of a full-scale alliance. And most importantly, they will strengthen Europe’s resolve to keep Turkey at arm’s length, but do nothing to diminish Turkey’s undying resolve to get into Europe’s bed.<br />And as Obadiah’s prophecy reveals, that nation’s willingness to do anything to serve this ambition—including betrayal—will lead to its ruin.ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-58392813544176888552007-11-06T07:04:00.000+01:002008-02-21T10:01:40.659+01:00Pace of Turkey's reforms slowing down, EU progress report says<a id="articleLocation" title="Click to view map" href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/05/europe/EU-GEN-EU-Turkey.php#">BRUSSELS, Belgium</a>: The European Union will urge Turkey on Tuesday to press ahead with reforms crucial for its bid to join the bloc, singling out freedom of expression, democratic oversight of the military and rights for Kurds as key areas where more progress is needed.<br />In an annual report on the progress in Turkey's membership bid, the EU's executive Commission will also repeat that Ankara must normalize its relations with Cyprus and honor a 2005 pact to open its ports and airports to the island republic.<br />The pace of reforms "has slowed down" since Turkey's membership negotiations opened two years ago, and "significant further efforts are needed" in the crucial areas, said a draft of the report seen by The Associated Press.<br />The talks stalled last year when the EU froze negotiations on eight out of 35 policy areas, because of Turkey's refusal to open its ports to trade with Cyprus, an EU member since 2004. But EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said last month that negotiations in two new areas could be opened "in the coming weeks."<br />On Tuesday, Rehn planned also to present reports on the efforts of six Balkan nations to join the EU.<br />The draft report on Turkey commends the country's government on solving a constitutional crisis earlier this year, but says the military — which has vowed to safeguard Turkish secularism — still exerts "significant political influence." The draft report calls for a better civilian oversight of the armed forces.<br />Abdulah Gul, a former foreign minister in Turkey's Islamic-oriented government, was elected president in July after months of confrontation with the secular establishment, with the military threatening to intervene when Gul was first nominated for the post.<br />The draft report says serious concerns remain over freedom of speech restrictions, particularly Article 301 of the Turkish penal code that make it a crime to insult Turkish identity or the country's institutions.<br />Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk and slain ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink are among those who have been prosecuted under the controversial article.<br />The report also mentions the need to improve religious and cultural rights for non-Muslims, but it lauds Turkey's economic reforms.<br />The 27-nation EU is divided over whether Turkey, a mainly Muslim country of 71 million, should one day join the EU. The prospect faces opposition from some member states, such as France or Austria, and the accession talks are expected to last at least a decade.<br />Turkey is under intense pressure from the EU to allow Greek Cypriot planes and vessels to use Turkish ports and airports, but Ankara has said it would not agree to any concessions on Cyprus until the EU keeps to a promise to end the isolation of Turkish Cypriots.<br />Cyprus has been divided between a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish-occupied north since 1974, when Turkey invaded after an abortive Athens-backed coup by supporters of union with Greece<br />The European Parliament said last month that Turkey's refusal to comply with the commitments made when it opened its accession talks with the EU would seriously affect the negotiations.ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-64728371394341524002007-11-08T07:00:00.000+01:002008-02-21T10:01:40.658+01:00Ban on free speech keeping Turkey out of EUDavid Charter in Brussels<br />A growing number of prosecutions against writers and academics is damaging Turkey’s case to become a fully fledged member of the European Union, an annual assessment report said yesterday.<br />The country has made little progress in the past year and its failure to end torture, improve minority rights or guarantee freedom of expression were all highlighted as significant stumbling blocks to EU membership.<br />Britain joined the European Commission in arguing that only the offer of full membership would bring real reform inside Turkey, but President Sarkozy Sarkozy of France, has led calls for the Muslim nation of 71 million to be offered only associate membership.<br />Olli Rehn, the Enlargement Commissioner, signalled a battle with those who want to end Turkey’s hopes of membership, however, declaring: “Conditionality only works if the EU respects its own commitment to the prospect of accession. Without this, we can always demand reforms but this would be as if we were speaking to the wall.”<br />Population growth would probably make Turkey the EU’s largest member if it joins, as it hopes, by 2020, and give the Community borders with Syria, Iran and Iraq. But there are many hurdles yet to overcome, the European Commission’s progress check said.<br />One of the key demands was for the repeal of Article 301 of the Turkish penal code, which makes it a crime to insult Turkish identity. The article has been used to prosecute the Nobel prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk and the murdered journalist Hrant Dink for commenting on the killings of Armenians by Turks in the early 20th century.<br />The report cautioned: “The prosecution and conviction for the expression of non-violent opinions under certain provisions of the Turkish criminal code are a cause of serious concern. The number of persons almost doubled in 2006 compared with 2005 and there was a further increase in 2007. The Turkish legal system does not fully guarantee freedom of expression in line with European standards.”<br />Mr Rehn added: “It is not acceptable that writers, journalists, academics and other intellectuals . . . are prosecuted for simply expressing a critical but completely non-violent opinion.”<br />Yielding to pressure from the EU Mehmet Ali Sahin, the Turkish Justice Minister, said last night that a new Bill repealing Article 301 would be put before Parliament in the coming days.<br />“Several drafts have been prepared in line with proposals by civic groups. The Cabinet will discuss them at first opportunity, select one and submit it to parliament,” Mr Sahin told Anatolia news agency. Other issues remain outstanding, however. The EU repeated demands that Ankara normalise relations with Cyprus and honour a 2005 agreement to open its ports and airports to the EU member.<br />The pace of reforms had slowed since Turkey’s membership negotiations opened two years ago. “Cases of torture and ill-treatment are still being reported, especially during arrest and outside detention centres,” it added.<br />It commended the Turkish Government for solving a constitutional crisis before President Gül was elected this year, but said that the military still exerted “significant political influence”.<br />In the southeast of the country: “Turkey needs to create the conditions for the predominantly Kurdish population there to enjoy full rights and freedoms.”<br />Mr Rehn would not be drawn on the consequences for Turkey’s membership ambitions if it invaded Iraq to quash Kurdish separatists.<br />Wider community<br />EU enlargement candidate countries Croatia The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Turkey<br />Potential candidates Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegro Serbia Kosovo (under United Nations Interim Administration Mission)<br />Source: European Commissionispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-13279108199831247492007-11-08T07:01:00.000+01:002008-02-21T10:01:40.657+01:00Turkey warns on 'dilution' of EU goalBy Tony Barber in Brussels<br /><br />Turkey warned France on Wednesday against trying to bury its aspirations to European Union membership by manipulating a "wise men's committee" that is expected to pronounce on Europe's long-term future.<br />Mehmet Simsek, Turkey's economy minister, also re&shy;affirmed his government's promise to remove an obs&shy;tacle to Turkish entry by changing a much-criticised article of the penal code that makes it a crime to insult Turkish national identity.<br />Mr Simsek's remarks amounted to a forceful assertion of Turkey's rights as an official candidate for EU membership and of its readiness to take politically difficult measures to achieve its goal.<br />"Purely technically, in terms of adopting the acquis [the EU's body of accumulated law], I think Turkey can do this by 2014 very comfortably," Mr Simsek said. "But we don't really have an entry date in mind, and what is importantis that we keep the process alive. We hope that common sense will prevail."<br />Mr Sarkozy's proposal for a "wise men's committee" of 10 to 12 people to study the EU's future up to 2020 or 2030 is expected to win approval from fellow EU leaders at a summit in Brussels next month.<br />Some EU states, such as Austria and France, oppose Turkey's entry, even though accession talks started in October 2005. Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, the EU's biggest country, says she would prefer a "privileged relationship" with Turkey to full membership.<br />EU countries sympathetic to Turkey, such as Sweden and the UK, want the committee's members to be carefully chosen and its mandate to be precise, so that it does not turn into a vehicle for critics of Turkey.<br />Mr Simsek made clear in no uncertain terms that Turkey would accept no recommendation from the "wise men" involving a privileged EU relationship, partnership in a French-proposed Mediterranean Union, or anything else short of full EU membership.<br />"We cannot accept dilution of the commitment to Turkey. Dilution sends an extremely poor message," Mr Simsek told a meeting of the European Policy Centre think-tank.<br />Referring to the association agreement that Turkey signed in 1963 with the European Economic Community, the EU's forerunner, Mr Simsek said: "We waited in the anteroom for 40 years. Trying to find a way to dilute the commitment doesn't serve French interests."<br />Mr Simsek said the ruling Justice and Development party was strong enough after its comfortable election victory in July to amend Article 301 of the penal code, a step that the European Commission said this week should be a precondition of Turkish entry into the EU.<br />"My government would like to amend it, and we will. But I'd like to highlight that it's easy to change legislation but it takes a long time to digest the changes and to change the mentality," he said.<br />"More importantly, we'd like to make fundamental changes that would secure these freedoms in a more fundamental way. Things don't happen overnight," he added.<br />Discussing a recent spate of attacks on Turkish targets by the separatist Kurdish PKK movement, Mr Simsek said Turkey preferred not to launch a military incursion into northern Iraq, but stressed that it remained an option.<br />"If there is a military incursion, it will be aimed purely at rooting out terrorists on Iraqi soil. It will be limited in scope," he said.<br />Copyright The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reservedispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-38471345157582381642007-12-04T09:28:00.000+01:002008-02-21T10:01:40.655+01:00Debating Turkey and the EUANKARA, Turkey. -- In the past two years, the suburbs of Paris have twice witnessed violent clashes between non-native French citizens and the police. Whether religious and cultural differences or poverty, unemployment and racial discrimination are the root causes of these incidents is open to debate. But what's interesting is that in September 2006, before he was elected president, Nicolas Sarkozy visited Washington and argued that then the first French riot stood as one of the reasons he opposes Turkey's European Union membership.<br />"[I] have often been asked about the place of Muslims in France, because of concern in the United States," Mr. Sarkozy said at an event organized by the French-American Foundation. "My dear friends, let's be consistent. What's the point of worrying about our ability to integrate Muslims in France or in Europe if at the same time, and just as forcefully, the United States asks us to accept Turkey in Europe? Even if you consider that we have a problem with Islam, in which case, you have to give us time to find the ways and means to create a European Islam and reject an Islam in Europe. But don't then give equal support to the integration of a country like Turkey, with 75 million inhabitants. Consistency is part of the relations between Europe and the United States." Indeed, Mr. Sarkozy's point of view is shared by many Europeans.<br />It's true that Turkey is becoming more Muslim than European — particularly since the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) took power in 2002. Since then, 2006 the Pew Global Attitudes poll found out that 51 percent of Turks define themselves first as Muslim. Being religious is not the problem, but there is a lack of sincere debate about what exactly scares people when they are faced with Islamic practices taking a role in governmental life. If freedom of religion is measured by allowing headscarves in governmental buildings, would it also consider new interpretations of those practices by others? Or whether AKP's understanding of secular government is consistent with European secular rule?<br />Mr. Sarkozy is right to say that he needs time to "find the ways and means to create a European Islam." But it is also a fact that Europeans allowed political Islam in Turkey to make headscarves the one and only problem with freedom of religion; now, it's time they look deeper into the issue. Turkey's most trusted public opinion survey group, KONDA, led by Tarhan Erdem, yesterday announced the results of a new survey that shows a significant rise in numbers of covered women. According to this survey, in the last four years, there are a million more Turkish women wearing headscarfwhile the ones with turban, which is a sign of political Islam has quadrupled.<br />Unfortunately, Turkey's secular and liberal elites have denied the role of religion in public life in such a way that they have created a huge mess by not investing in theological education to allow an open-minded approach to matters — understanding what Islam means in the modern world, rather than a strictly literal interpretation. There are a limited number of those theologians, but they are not enough to change a traditionalist mindset.<br />AKP's insistence on traditionalist practices like the headscarf stands as proof that it refuses to allow open debate on religious interpretations. Mr. Sarkozy may have strange bedfellows with respect to his concerns about Turkey's EU membership; secular Turks may also be worried about their future.<br />If the AKP is proud that Turkey has opened accession talks with EU on its watch, it is now disinterested in moving forward with reforms of governmental institutions. The European Commission reported "limited progress" in Turkey's political reform process.<br />According to the Pew Global Attitudes poll, the EU's favorability rating in Turkey dropped from 58 percent in 2004 to 27 percent in 2007. There are a number of thorny issues in Turkey's relations with the EU — including Cyprus, the Armenian genocide allegations and the Kurdish dilemma. Yet not all of the EU's issues are related to those matters. And while the AKP is determined to keep Turkey on track to join the EU, it is sending a number of paradoxical signals. These raise concerns, as the AKP is a relatively new party and it is almost impossible to judge how its rule will affect Turkey. The Turkish scenery, however, looks in absolute chaos for the time being.<br />Against all the odds it seems that Mr. Sarkozy understands that Turkey's Westernization process is not only limited to its borders and its politicians' responses; it is very much a European project. Yet he may take a more constructive approach in dealing with Turkey. Still, although Mr. Sarkozy said he would end Turkey's accession talks with the EU when he was elected, he has done no such thing. Yet he continues to express his opposition loud and clear, which is only fair it represents the sincere opinion of some of the European population. But the outgoing and the incoming EU presidents, Portugal and Slovenia, continue to express full support to Turkey's membership.<br />Tulin Daloglu is a freelance writer.ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-19857760393494881092007-12-04T09:30:00.001+01:002008-02-21T10:01:40.653+01:00Merkel Says German Christian Democrats Oppose Turkey's EU BidBy Andreas Cremer<br />Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her Christian Democratic Union opposes Turkey's bid to become a full member of the European Union, the first time she has articulated outright opposition to Turkish EU membership.<br />``We are, have been and will remain in favor of a privileged partnership with Turkey, but we're against full membership in the European Union,'' Merkel said in a speech to the Christian Democrats' annual convention in Hanover today.<br />Merkel's CDU party has until now said that accession talks between the EU and Turkey mustn't rob Turkey of the eventual possibility of becoming a full member. The CDU is now ``right to clarify'' its opposition, Merkel said.<br />Turkey has made little headway toward joining the EU since it started membership talks in October 2005. Rising European opposition to admitting the predominantly Muslim nation has triggered a backlash against the 27-nation EU in Turkey. Sixty- eight percent of Germans oppose Turkey's EU entry, according to a Forsa poll on Aug. 10.ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-40077099106226238802007-12-07T11:44:00.000+01:002008-02-21T10:01:40.648+01:00Turkey flexes diplomatic muscle as economy boomsBy Gareth Jones<br />REUTERS<br />6:14 a.m. December 6, 2007<br />ANKARA – The frenetic travel of President Abdullah Gul highlights Turkey's new self-confidence on the global stage as its economy booms and foreign investment pours into the European Union candidate nation.<br />Gul's election to the presidency in August has reinforced a growing commercial and diplomatic trend to reach out beyond traditional Western partners to Turkic Central Asia, Russia, Iran, the Arab world and east Asia.<br />Turkey's expanding ties with these regions, often driven by energy needs, should be seen as complementing, not replacing, its decades-old drive to join the EU, analysts say.<br />Gul, who as foreign minister helped start EU accession talks, has been in Pakistan and Turkmenistan this week, he goes to Kazakhstan next week. He was in France last week and before that in Georgia.<br />'This new multi-dimensional foreign policy does not come at the expense of our European vocation, but our place in the world is changing,' said Suat Kiniklioglu, a member of parliament for Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's ruling centre-right AK Party.<br />'We lack the clout to broker big international deals, but we are getting to a point where Turkey is recognised as a player in places like the Middle East and Central Asia,' he said.<br />Muslim, secular and democratic Turkey – a NATO member that for decades tended to box well below its diplomatic weight – clearly has much to offer, and the world seems increasingly interested in its perspective.<br />Almost uniquely in its region, Turkey has good relations with both Iran and Israel, for example, and its peacekeepers are active from Kosovo and Lebanon to Afghanistan.<br />In the past month alone, the foreign ministers of Iran and the United States have rubbed shoulders at a conference of Iraq's neighbours in Istanbul and the Israeli and Palestinian presidents have jointly addressed Turkey's parliament in Ankara.<br />Erdogan has also cleverly and confidently used threats to send troops into northern Iraq to fight Kurdish rebels hiding there to push President George W. Bush into sharing intelligence with Turkey to help combat the rebels.<br />Aware of Turkey's strategic importance as an ally in a difficult region, the United States – and the EU – have turned a blind eye to Turkish cross-border strikes against the rebels.<br />PRAGMATISM<br />'Turkey is not a prime mover, it is in the second division, but it is being increasingly listened to across the region,' said Hugh Pope, author of books on Turkey including 'Sons of the Conquerors' about the Turks and Central Asia.<br />'Turkey has shed some of the former arrogance it showed in its dealings with the Middle East and Central Asia,' he said, emphasising the pragmatism and entrepreneurial spirit displayed by Turkish businessmen, engineers and educators in the region.<br />Ottoman Turks ruled the Middle East, the Balkans and north Africa for centuries from Istanbul.<br />Turkey's more active diplomacy is not without its problems. The United States, in particular, is vexed by Turkey's growing energy links with Iran, though Ankara has made clear it shares Washington's opposition to Tehran building nuclear weapons.<br />The Islamist-rooted AK Party is also respected perhaps more in the Arab world than previous Turkish governments because of its Muslim piety as well as its success in overseeing annual economic growth in Turkey of around 7 percent. Gulf Arab money has been pouring into Istanbul. Analysts say Ahmet Davutoglu, Erdogan's chief foreign policy adviser, is the mastermind behind Turkey's growing diplomatic dynamism during the past five years of AK Party rule.<br />Like Gul, Davutoglu hails from piously conservative central Anatolia but sees no contradiction between Islam and democracy, between Turkey's EU bid and building closer Middle East ties.<br />EU STILL KEY<br />Gul's own approach stands in stark contrast to that of his predecessor, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, a shy, ascetic former judge, who rarely left Ankara and had no interest in foreign affairs.<br />'Gul really wants to make up for lost time and re-engage, especially in Central Asia,' said Kiniklioglu.<br />Turkey aims to become an energy hub for Caspian and Central Asian oil and gas exports transiting to Western markets. Existing and planned pipelines across Turkish territory, the West hopes, will reduce its reliance on Russian energy exports.<br />Analysts said Turkey's central foreign policy goal would remain its EU accession negotiations, launched in 2005.<br />'Europe is still number one priority, there can be no substitutes... More than 50 percent of Turkey's trade is still with the EU,' said Pope.<br />'Turkey's higher profile on the world stage is directly linked to its EU candidacy... If Turkey repudiated the EU connection, it would frankly lose much of its prestige with other countries. And Gul understands this very well.'ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-91862779802716188762007-12-08T09:31:00.000+01:002008-02-21T10:01:40.647+01:00Turkish reform seen tied to progress in EU talksBy Evren Mesci<br />ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey will reform a law the European Union says unfairly restricts freedom of speech when the EU allows its stalled membership talks to resume, Turkish officials said on Friday.<br />Turkey has been under heavy EU pressure to amend or scrap article 301 of the penal code which makes it a crime to insult "Turkishness", but Ankara is frustrated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy's efforts to block the negotiation process.<br />Sarkozy opposes allowing Turkey, a large, relatively poor, Muslim country, to join the 27-nation bloc. German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week also reiterated her opposition to Turkey's membership.<br />"There is full political will to change article 301, that has been decided on, but the details and timing depend on the EU taking certain steps," said a senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity.<br />"It will be difficult to press the button on new reforms (if no new chapters are opened)."<br />French diplomats have been fighting backroom skirmishes in Brussels to keep any reference to "accession" or "membership" in connection with Turkey out of an EU foreign ministers' statement next Monday on enlargement policy, EU sources said.<br />EU ambassadors met for several hours on Friday to try to resolve that drafting dispute but failed to reach agreement, meaning ministers will have to take up the issue on Monday.<br />Turkey hopes to open talks on at least two more chapters, or policy areas, under Portugal's EU presidency, which ends on December 31.<br />A meeting to launch negotiations on health and consumer affairs policy and trans-European networks is set for December 18, diplomats said, provided EU leaders agree next week on creating a "reflection group" to study the bloc's long-term future.<br />The ambassadors provisionally agreed on the bloc's mandate, which does not mention either enlargement, Turkey or the question of where Europe's final borders might lie.<br />"WIDER REGION"<br />Sarkozy initially wanted the group to debate the final borders of Europe, but the draft mandate likely to be adopted at a summit next Friday speaks of examining "how the stability and prosperity both of the Union and of the wider region might best be served in the longer term".<br />In French eyes, it does not prejudge whether Turkey will be in the Union or the "wider region" in 2020-30. Ankara's friends in the EU are fighting to include a reference to "commitments entered into", to underline the bloc has given its word to Turkey that the objective of the talks is full membership.<br />Brussels says Turkey should press on with reforms regardless of negative comments by Sarkozy and others in Europe. They say progress on reforms will be Ankara's best argument in trying to overcome opposition to its bid.<br />But France has been blocking the opening of chapters, diplomats say. Some other EU member states, notably Britain, Spain and Sweden, strongly support Turkey's EU drive. Ankara is not seen joining the bloc before 2015 at the earliest.<br />A Turkish diplomatic source said Ankara may push through another reform sought by the EU before an expected visit to Turkey by Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis in January.<br />But he said the reform, which would ease property restrictions on non-Muslim religious minorities in Turkey such as the Greek Orthodox community, could hinge on Greece's steps to bolster rights of its own Turkish-speaking Muslim community in the western Thrace region of northern Greece.<br />In another reform move, Turkey's ruling AK Party signalled on Friday it plans to ease a ban on the wearing of the Islamic headscarf under a new draft constitution.<br />"This (new) constitution will solve the headscarf problem in a more libertarian spirit," Dengir Firat, a deputy chairman of the AK Party, told CNN Turk television.<br />The AK party has hinted many times that it wants to modify or if possible remove the headscarf ban, which also applies to government offices.<br />Turkey's secularists view the headscarf as a symbol of political Islam and a challenge to the country's separation of religion and state.<br />(Writing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Michael Winfrey)ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-689252703262204362007-12-11T18:08:00.000+01:002008-02-21T10:01:40.646+01:00Turkey's ambitions for EU membership suffer setbackBrussels - Turkey's ambitions to join the European Union suffered a setback Monday after EU foreign ministers, under pressure from France, dropped the term "accession" from a text referring to next week's talks with Ankara. Unlike a similar text approved a year ago, the "Council conclusions on enlargement" text approved by ministers on Monday refers to this month's "Intergovernmental Conferences with Turkey and Croatia" and omits the term "accession" when referring to such talks.<br />Council sources said the final draft of the text was amended to appease France, whose President Nicolas Sarkozy has emerged as one of the strongest opponents of Turkey's entry into the EU.<br />Britain and Sweden, which both want Turkey to join the 27-member bloc, are believed to have expressed strong reservations over the approved text.<br />In their conclusions, ministers also regretted "the limited progress achieved in political reform in Turkey in 2007."<br />"Significant further efforts are also needed in other areas such as judicial reform, the fight against corruption, minority rights and the strengthening of cultural rights, women's rights, children's rights, trade union rights and the civilian control of the military," the statement said.<br />Ministers also expressed disappointment over Turkey's failure to make "progress towards normalization of relations with the Republic of Cyprus" and called on Ankara "to unequivocally commit to good neighbourly relations and to the peaceful settlement of disputes" - a reference to the current problems it is facing with Kurdish rebels on its southern border with Iraq.<br />While ministers also dropped the term "accession" when referring to forthcoming talks with Croatia, the text commended the country "for the overall progress it continued to make in the past year," saying negotiations between Brussels and Zagreb were "on the right track."ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-81083659300459328542007-12-11T18:09:00.001+01:002008-02-21T10:01:40.645+01:00EU urges Turkey to do more on path to membershipBRUSSELS, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers from the European Union (EU) on Monday urged Turkey to conduct further reforms on its path to earning membership of the 27-member bloc.<br /> The ministers acknowledged the ongoing process of revising the Turkish constitution, but stressed that such process should not delay long awaited reforms, "in particular in the key areas of freedom of expression and freedom of religion where Turkey needs to proceed without delay."<br /> During their meeting ahead of the EU summit on Dec. 14, the ministers also called on Turkey to make "significant further efforts" in other areas such as judicial reform, the fight against corruption, minority rights and the strengthening of cultural rights, women's and children's rights, trade union rights and civilian control of the military.<br /> In a statement issued during the meeting, the ministers reaffirmed the need to promptly develop and implement a comprehensive strategy that will guarantee the economic, social and cultural development of Turkey's east and southeast region.<br /> They urged Turkey to "unequivocally" commit to good-neighborly relations and to the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the United Nations (UN) Charter.<br /> "In this context, any threat or action which could negatively affect good-neighborly relations and the peaceful settlement of disputes should be avoided," said the statement.<br /> Meanwhile, the ministers expressed their regret that Turkey has not made progress toward the normalization of relations with the Republic of Cyprus.<br /> They urged Turkey to actively support efforts to implement the July 8, 2006 agreement reached between the two sides in Cyprus, in the presence of UN Undersecretary for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari, which is aimed at a comprehensive and viable settlement of the Cyprus problem within the UN framework.<br /> The ministers condemned all terrorist attacks and violence in Turkish territory and expressed their solidarity with the Turkish people as well as their support for Turkey's efforts to protect its population and fight terrorism.<br /> In the statement, the ministers regretted the limited progress achieved in political reforms in Turkey, but welcomed the Turkish government's declared intention and renewed commitment in continuing the reform process and addressing the existing shortcomings.<br /> "It (the EU) looks forward to seeing these commitments soon translated into real and tangible actions," said the statement.<br /> "Next year is crucial to further consolidate and implement the EU's enlargement strategy and support the transition process in the Western Balkans," it added.ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132295.post-68327483036332254562007-12-14T15:04:00.000+01:002008-02-21T10:01:40.644+01:00Turkey's economyA cloud no bigger than a hand<br />Dec 13th 2007 ANKARA AND ISTANBULFrom The Economist print edition<br />The Turkish economy is doing well, but it is also vulnerable<br /><br />IN 2001 Turkey's president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, flung a copy of the constitution at the prime minister, Bulent Ecevit, helping to plunge the country into its worst financial crisis since the war. This year Turkey has lurched from one political mess to another. In April a top general threatened a coup; an early general election was held in July; in August Abdullah Gul, a former foreign minister whose wife wears an Islamic-style headscarf, became president over the army's objections; then Turkey threatened to invade northern Iraq. Yet, in contrast to 2001, the markets have barely blinked through all the turbulence.<br />In truth, the economy is far healthier than it was, thanks mainly to a rigid adherence to IMF-prescribed reforms on the part of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party. Since AK came to power in 2002 GDP growth has averaged 6.6%, inflation has fallen to single digits and foreign direct investment (FDI) has soared. AK's economic record is one reason why it won a sharply increased share of the vote (although fewer seats) in July.<br />Yet Lorenzo Giorgianni, the IMF's top man for Turkey, rightly says that this strong economic performance should not be taken for granted. Year-on-year GDP growth in the third quarter was the lowest for six years, at just 1.5%. The credit crunch and fears of an American recession are curbing investors' appetites for emerging markets. Turkey, with a huge current-account deficit, is especially vulnerable. Negotiations for Turkish membership of the European Union, the prospect of which is an anchor for investor confidence, have soured. The IMF programme itself is due to expire next May and the government has yet to decide whether to renew it.<br />The current-account deficit is being boosted by a rising energy bill. As manufacturers shift to higher value-added goods, they need costlier inputs. Coupled with an overvalued Turkish lira, all this has served to push up the import bill. In previous years the deficit was financed by hot money, making the economy more vulnerable. Now nearly two-thirds of the deficit is covered by FDI, which may hit $22 billion this year. Metin Ar, president of Garanti Securities in Istanbul, predicts that, with the privatisation of motorways and plans for new energy-distribution networks, FDI could rise to $30 billion next year. “Foreigners are so keen to get a foot into the market that they are happy to pay double, triple the real value of assets.”<br />With their dizzyingly high profits and much untapped retail potential, Turkish banks look appealing targets. New regulations can require capital-adequacy ratios to be as high as 20%, against the international minimum of 8%. “We don't allow any bank to go below 12%,” says Mehmet Simsek, the economy minister. He adds that the state-owned Halkbank is soon to be put on the block.<br />Mr Simsek, who was snatched into the job from Merrill Lynch in London, agrees that “markets like external anchors” and concedes that Turkey is not immune to external shocks. Yet he sees no crisis on the horizon. His main task is to push through a social-security reform that is a test of the government's commitment to reform. His biggest bugbear is high labour costs. He provoked an outcry when he complained that Turkey had one of the highest wage burdens among OECD countries. High taxes on labour, plus onerous welfare benefits, are a big obstacle to the creation of new jobs. Unemployment hovers at around 10%.<br />There is little doubt that Mr Simsek has the will and the brains to do what is needed. Ercan Uygur, an economist who taught Mr Simsek at Ankara University, says he was “one of my best students”. Yet some political observers worry that Mr Simsek, who is only 40, may not have enough clout. Unlike his predecessor, Ali Babacan, now Turkey's foreign minister, Mr Simsek is a newcomer to AK politics. His swift rise has provoked some jealousy within the party.<br />In truth Mr Simsek cuts an unusual figure in the government, and not only as a former investment banker with an American wife. He was born into grinding poverty in the mainly Kurdish province of Batman. He did not even learn Turkish until he was six. By his own admission, he is more comfortable speaking English. A big Shakira fan, he provoked mirth at a recent cabinet meeting when he misused the word transparan, meaning see-through, while talking about the budget.<br />Yet for now, at least, Mr Simsek has the full confidence of his prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. And it is Mr Erdogan who calls the shots. The concern is whether it may be Mr Simsek who gets the blame should the economy slow further and foreign investors take fright.ispanyolca kursunoreply@blogger.com1